


And They Were Roommates

by Rewv



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, Friends to Lovers, Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi is Whipped, Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Lee Jihoon | Woozi - Freeform, M/M, Mentioned SEVENTEEN Ensemble, OT13 Friend Group, Producer Lee Jihoon | Woozi, Roommates, and they were ROOMMATES, oh my god they were roommates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-01 16:47:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,491
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23670313
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rewv/pseuds/Rewv
Summary: Soonyoung has been looking for a new roommate, and when Wonwoo literally brings one to his door, he realizes he's really in it this time.
Relationships: Kwon Soonyoung | Hoshi/Lee Jihoon | Woozi
Comments: 11
Kudos: 172





	And They Were Roommates

Soonyoung scrolled through Craigslist with one hand and one eye, the other half of him shoveling popcorn into his mouth and rewatching last year’s Puppy Bowl in anticipation for this year’s. He needed a new roommate - fast because he couldn’t afford rent alone - but every profile was worse than the last. From stoners to perverts, it was like every shady person possible had collectively decided to look for a place to stay at the same time.

Groaning, both at the lack of viable roommate candidates and because Team Fluff just lost another point, Soonyoung shut his laptop and turned the television off, falling onto his side and sinking into the faded couch cushions. He made sure to really enjoy their lack of volume, because it might be one of the last times if he couldn’t find someone to help him pay the bills.

Suddenly his phone rang, vibrating from his hoodie pocket and touching a ticklish nerve in his side, causing him to jerk upwards quickly, and unfortunately tumble off the couch onto the floor. Groaning again at the pain and mumbling about needing a rug, Soonyoung pulled his phone out to see who was trying to contact him at the ungodly hour of eleven thirty pm. 

And of course, it was the only person he knew that stayed up as late as Soonyoung did - Wonwoo.

“What do you want.” It was a question, but Soonyoung said it like a statement, knowing Wonwoo well enough to know that he didn’t want anything.

“You said you were looking for a roommate, right?”

“Yeah, why? You found one?”

“I sure did.” Soonyoung recognized the hint of mischief in his friend’s voice, the smile he was suppressing because he knew Soonyoung could hear his body language.

“Oh no, it better not be that boy you’ve been trying to set me up with. I told you, I’m not looking for a relationship right now.”

“Yeah, right, that’s what they all say right before meeting their soulmate,” Soonyoung started to protest again, but Wonwoo cut him off, “And that ‘boy’ - whose name you definitely know - needs a place to stay that isn’t crashing at his cousin’s place. He just got kicked out.”

“Kicked out?! Wonwoo, are you trying to set me up with a murderer!?”

“Okay, well now you’re just jumping to conclusions. He got kicked out because his cousin is moving cross-country with his wife and they can’t afford to feed a third mouth that doesn’t pay rent.”

“Doesn’t pay rent!? Wonwoo, you know I-”

“Soonyoung! Chill out! He has a job, he’ll pay rent, and he’s not a murderer, I _promise_. Now please, just shut up and say yes!”

“Fine, he can move in, but I refuse to become romantically involved.”

“Uh huh, sure.” Soonyoung could _hear_ Wonwoo’s smug expression through the receiver.

“I’m serious!”

“So am I!” 

There was a pause where the two somehow managed to glare at each other over the phone.

“Honestly, Soonyoung, you’ll love him.”

Soonyoung sighed, “Whatever you say, I guess. I’m going to sleep now so I won’t be a zombie when I meet this cheap murderer.”

Wonwoo let out a gruff chuckle, “He’s going to kill me if he hears about that one.”

“So you’re confirming that he’s a murderer?”

“You’ll thank me later.”

“For the murderous roommate?!”

“Good night, Soonyoung.”

Before Soonyoung could yell back that _he_ was about to become a murderer, Wonwoo hung up, leaving Soonyoung alone in a silent apartment.

* * *

The loud knocking on the front door startled Soonyoung out of bed the next morning, blankets flying as he scrambled to throw on sweatpants and a t-shirt and get to the door. Thoughts of how messy his hair must be and how bad his breath must smell were too last second to matter, his hand already turning the doorknob to reveal-

“Wonwoo?” Soonyoung exhaled his friend’s name, trying to catch his breath, “What are you doing here?”

“Just dropping something off.”

That was when Soonyoung noticed the smaller figure almost halfway behind Wonwoo, standing in the taller man’s shadow. It didn’t seem to be out of shyness, but rather he was just so much smaller than Wonwoo that the only way they would both be in the doorway was if he stood where he was. 

“Oh, um, hi there.” Soonyoung said cautiously, raising a hand to wave softly, “I’m Soonyoung.”

The shorter man stepped around Wonwoo, elbowing him in the side (“What was that for?”), “Hey, I’m Jihoon.”

Subconsciously, Soonyoung took notice of his new roommate’s good looks; grey-dyed hair parted down the middle and slightly tousled, eyes sharp yet soft, small rounded nose pointing down at thin pink lips. The boy wore a loose black hoodie, neckline wide enough to reveal pale skin and prominent collarbones, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, a hand that could only be described as elegantly pretty holding a take-away coffee cup, the other grasping the handle of a black duffle bag stuffed to burst. 

Soonyoung ran a hand through his hair, praying it was messy in the sexy, windswept way and not the cowlick, I-haven’t-washed-my-hair-in-a-week way. Struggling to unwrinkle his shirt and unfold the edges, Soonyoung pulled his gaze away from Jihoon and back to Wonwoo, whose face was annoyingly smug.

“Cheap murderer?”

“Don’t make me mad while I’m trying to be a friendly and welcoming roommate.” Soonyoung opened the door as far as it would go, moving to the side with it and gesturing for Jihoon to come in.

“Thanks.” Jihoon murmured, glancing between the two friends suspiciously before turning his gaze downwards as he shuffled past Sooyoung into the apartment awkwardly.

Soonyoung turned to shut the door, remembering Wonwoo was still there a little too late to hide his eagerness to officially become roommates with Jihoon.

“I’ll be waiting for that thank you.” Wonwoo winked, a grin stretched across his face and his nose scrunched beneath his round glasses.

With one last glare and the couldn’t-be-helped sticking out of the tongue of a sibling that knows they’ve been bested, Soonyoung closed and locked the door.

When he turned to face his living room, Jihoon was gone. Confused, Soonyoung ventured further into the apartment, heading towards the second bedroom, where he found Jihoon already unpacking.

“Hey,” Jihoon jumped at Soonyoung’s voice, nearly knocking over his coffee where it sat on the dresser, “Woah, sorry. Scare easily?” Soonyoung couldn’t help but tease, knowing in the back of his mind that he should be polite and welcoming to his new roommate before letting himself act like….well, himself.

“No…” Jihoon mumbled. Soonyoung couldn’t tell if he was self-conscious or just socially awkward. To be safe, he figured both.

“Sorry, I’m just messing with you. It’s nice to meet you!”

Jihoon barely mumbled the phrase back, focused on putting away his clothes. An awkward silence settled over the two for a while, Soonyoung eventually noticing that Jihoon was just folding and refolding the same three shirts over and over again.

“Um, I guess I should go, then….If you need anything, I’m always within a hundred square feet. The apartment isn’t very big.”

Jihoon barely nodded at Soonyoung’s attempt at a humorous comment, finally closing the dresser drawer as Soonyoung turned to leave the doorway. He glanced at his new roommate out of the corner of his eye, refusing to fully turn his head to face Soonyoung, who was now fully out the door and heading towards the kitchen to make himself some breakfast. It was only ten thirty.

* * *

A few days passed without issue, the two roommates only exchanging greetings here and there, all entirely initiated by Soonyoung, who at this point was just craving any interaction with Jihoon. It was as if they lived in two different apartments with a communal kitchen and bathroom. 

Jihoon kept to himself, hiding in his room when he wasn’t eating or going to the bathroom. Occasionally, Soonyoung would hear music coming from Jihoon’s room, and from the weird, broken, stop and start tracks, he inferred that Jihoon was making the music himself. He realized that must be Jihoon’s work, and it allowed him to stay in his room all day.

Soonyoung longed to speak to the other person living in his home, but it seemed as if every time Soonyoung came home from work, came out of the bathroom, or even just came out of his room, he had just missed Jihoon. The amount of times he watched Jihoon’s door close at the last minute was almost infuriating. 

Frustrated with the lack of opportunities to sneak up on and/or build a rapport with his new roommate, Soonyoung resorted to a classic stake out. That weekend, at five thirty in the morning, he took all of the pillows from his bed and the couch and built a fortress at the end of the hallway between their two rooms. He made sure to bring snacks - pizza rolls and Cheetos - and water so he could survive for as long as he needed to catch the elusive Jihoon.

Settling in at seven thirty, Soonyoung waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

And waited a little longer.

And finally checked his phone through drooping eyelids to see that it was now almost eleven o’clock and there was still no sign of Jihoon. Coming to the decision that if he wasn’t out now, he wouldn’t be out for a while longer, Soonyoung allowed himself to put his head on one of the pillows and drift off to sleep. It was only a short nap.

* * *

“Soonyoung?”

Soonyoung’s eyelids parted groggily, sound fading in from the static of unconsciousness as he slowly came to his senses. He could tell that his mouth was slightly open and there was something wet stuck to the corner of it, and he could feel the baby fat on his left cheek pushed against his nose as it was smushed into something soft and comfortable. In his attempt to wipe whatever was on his face off, he realized he couldn’t move his arms or legs. Panicking - he’d always feared waking up paralyzed because his limbs fell asleep and he wasn’t there to shake them awake - his head shot up, neck muscles straining to allow him to look up and around him.

The first thing he saw was two feet in black socks, toes pointed in his direction. Slowly, he panned his gaze upwards, taking in a pajama-clad Jihoon from toe to head. His silver hair was messy from sleep, simultaneously covering and framing his face with tired and questioning eyes, yet he wasn’t any less attractive. Hoping he could blame it on sleepiness later, Soonyoung let himself stare for a moment.

“Soonyoung, what’s going on? What are you doing?” Jihoon gestured to what Soonyoung assumed was the rest of his body.

Tearing his eyes away from his roommate, Soonyoung glanced over his shoulder to see that the pillow fort had collapsed on top of him, leaving only his head sticking out. When he fell asleep he must have leaned too hard on the pillow in front of him, knocking it down and causing everything else to fall. The large pillow pile would explain why he couldn’t move his limbs.

“Um...redecorating?”

“Falling asleep in a pile of all our pillows is redecorating?” Soonyoung couldn’t hide his smile at Jihoon’s use of ‘our’, “What’s so funny?”

“Nothing, nothing.” Soonyoung dismissed Jihoon’s confusion, “Could you just...help me out of this?”

Jihoon sighed, “I guess so, sure.”

Ouch, not a good first conversation in days. Soonyoung was losing roommate points quickly and he knew it. Jihoon reached for the top pillow, unearthing Soonyoung one by one. When he was finally able to wiggle himself loose, Soonyoung stood up, wiping the drool from his lips and readjusting his tiger print pajamas. He turned to Jihoon, who was still holding a pillow, and thanked him, the other nodding in acknowledgement.

“Hey, lemme make you breakfast as a thank you.”

“All I did was move a few pillows. You'd've been able to get out on your own eventually.”

“Nonsense! I was pinned! Entombed! The only way I would’ve gotten out would’ve been by breaking all my limbs off and slithering out as a goddamn torso!” 

Jihoon chuckled at Soonyoung’s dramatics - it was the first time Soonyoung had ever seen him smile, and it was better than he’d expected. A small dimple appeared on Jihoon’s cheek, and his lips pulled back to reveal slightly pointy canines.

“Either way,” Jihoon said, fangs disappearing behind pink lips, “it’s nearly two in the afternoon.”

“We’ll go for lunch, then!” Soonyoung declared, already heading to his room to get ready, “We’ll go wherever you want, and I’ll pay! You get the shower first.”

“Soonyoung, I-”

“Eh beh beh beh,” Soonyoung held up a finger to silence Jihoon, “You can’t say no, I’m simply repaying your kindness.” Before Jihoon could protest, Soonyoung had shut himself in his room.

* * *

Outfit picked out and ready on his bed, all Soonyoung needed to do was shower and put it on, and then he was ready. He was so proud of how much progress he’d managed to make with Jihoon in only a few minutes. He’d gotten his new roommate to laugh, and created the perfect opportunity to get to know Jihoon - what was basically a date.

“Hey, Jihoon, you done ye-” the words died on Soonyoung’s tongue as he opened the bathroom door to reveal a very shirtless Jihoon, who had jumped in surprise and was now desperately trying to cover himself up. But it was no use - the damage had been done. Soonyoung had easily spotted the toned pectorals and abdomen, something he had not expected from such a small person who he never saw leave his room.

Soonyoung was frozen, mouth agape and eyes locked on Jihoon’s torso, though the younger was trying to cover the majority of it with his arms. Said arms, however, also managed to be extremely muscular, only drawing more of Soonyoung’s attention.

“Holy _shit_ , Jihoon! You’re fucking _jacked!_ ” 

Jihoon blushed a deep red, frantically shaking his head and attempting to push the still-frozen Soonyoung out the door while still covering his chest. Remembering his roommate points - and how badly he needed more - Soonyoung allowed himself to be pushed out of the small room. There wouldn’t have been much point in resisting, though, seeing as Jihoon could probably toss him across the apartment one-handed without breaking a sweat.

* * *

After Jihoon had awkwardly slipped out of the bathroom and past his roommate - now wearing a plain black t-shirt - Soonyoung showered and dressed, putting his maroon locks up in a sort of swoop to keep it out of his eyes.

He found Jihoon in the living room scrolling through Twitter on his phone. Soonyoung took the time in which Jihoon hadn’t seen him yet to just look at his new roommate. He had broad shoulders, the black shirt tucked into equally dark jeans, accentuating his thin waist. Now with the knowledge of what was beneath the black fabric, Soonyoung let his eyes roam over all the edges he knew got lost under the shirt, feeling almost special that he knew what Jihoon was hiding. Knowing he was dangerously close to being creepy, Soonyoung forced himself to stop staring, reminding himself to thank Wonwoo later for having such attractive friends.

“Hey,” for the third time since they’d met, Jihoon jumped when Soonyoung talked, “ready to go?”

Jihoon nodded, standing, oblivious to where his roommate’s eyes had been only moments ago, “Yeah, let’s go.”

* * *

The two ended up going to a Korean barbeque place just down the street from the apartment, choosing to walk in the cool mid-November afternoon air instead of drive. They chatted sparsely over bulgogi, Jihoon keeping his focus primarily on the meat and rice, nodding along to Soonyoung’s ramblings about how excited he was to finally have a roommate, and how he planned for them to be best friends.

“Jihoon, how many bowls of rice have you had?” Soonyoung asked, almost concerned at the amount of empty silver bowls on their table.

Through a mouthful of said rice, Jihoon glanced up at Soonyoung guiltily, “Two...”

Soonyoung glanced pointedly at the at least four empty bowls.

“Fine,” Jihoon put the current bowl he was working on and his chopsticks down in defeat, “Four.”

Soonyoung couldn’t help but burst into a fit of laughter, a hand on his shuddering abdomen. Jihoon’s brow furrowed, asking Soonyoung what was so funny about him eating his fill. When Soonyoung didn’t respond, Jihoon picked up his bowl and chopsticks, which only made Soonyoung laugh harder. Shoveling more rice into his mouth, Jihoon suddenly found himself laughing as well. Soon enough, they were two new roommates eating lunch and laughing harder than either of them had laughed in awhile.

* * *

That evening, Jihoon and Soonyoung sat down together at the dining table to eat dinner together. It was only a pizza they’d ordered, but somehow it was special because they were actually eating together rather than separately, as they had since Jihoon had moved in. 

Conversation flowed easily, Jihoon opening up some about his job - he was a music producer - and Soonyoung’s need for human interaction being fulfilled. Swept up in the ease of their friendship, Jihoon accidentally let slip that he occasionally sang. Soonyoung’s eyes got wide, and regret swamped Jihoon in an instant, praying that this wouldn’t go where it always did when he mentioned that sometimes his vocal cords vibrate differently.

“Can you sing for me?” Soonyoung asked earnestly. Jihoon sighed, looking down at his plate. That was always the first question.

“I...really don’t want to, Soonyoung. I’m sorry, I just-”

“That’s fine!” Jihoon’s eyes shot up to meet Soonyoung’s.

“What?”

“I totally get it if you’re not comfortable with it, or if you’re just not comfortable with me yet. We did just meet a few days ago and that’s pretty personal, especially if it’s your work. You don’t have to sing for me.”

Jihoon blinked in shock, deciding he liked Soonyoung.

* * *

A loud beeping noise roused Soonyoung from sleep, followed by a couple of crashes and what could've been a human noise. He sat up slowly, wary of the noise after having watched way too many crime documentaries. As quiet as he could, he got out of bed, realized he had nothing in his room that could be used as a weapon, and decided that his black belt in taekwondo from when he was fourteen would suffice.

Inching his bedroom door open, Soonyoung crept down the hallway, noticing that Jihoon’s door was open and feeling a lump of panic settle in his chest. _Did someone come for Jihoon? Did they kill him? Did he get kidnapped? Why would someone kidnap or kill him? Is he on the run? Was he in a cult?_

His fears quelled when he turned the corner into the kitchen and spotted his very short roommate struggling on his tiptoes to reach a bowl on the top shelf. On the floor were a couple of plastic cups and plates, and where Jihoon’s shirt was riding up from his reaching, Soonyoung could see a large red bruise blooming, visible even in the minimal moonlight filtering in through the blinds.

“Jihoon?”

Once again, Jihoon startled at Soonyoung’s voice, throwing himself off balance and frantically stepping blindly to try and avoid slipping on any of the objects on the ground. Unable to get a solid foothold, Jihoon began to topple backwards, calling out desperately for help.

“Soonyoung!”

Moving fast, Soonyoung threw his arms out and dove, but his own feet weren’t stable enough to catch a whole other person, so rather than a dramatic (and possibly romantic) saving of Jihoon’s life, Soonyoung ended up flat on his stomach, Jihoon landing on top of him and knocking the wind out of his lungs.

Gasping for air, Soonyoung struggled beneath Jihoon, who was frantically apologizing as he scrambled off of Soonyoung’s back. He helped Soonyoung sit up so they were both kneeling on the kitchen floor, plates and cups still scattered around them like debris after an explosion.

Soonyoung grabbed Jihoon’s hand, squeezing it tightly in panic as he struggled to breathe. Jihoon placed his other hand on Soonyoung’s back, rubbing circles in an attempt to calm his roommate down and still muttering rapidfire apologies.

Finally, Soonyoung gasped and inhaled a large gulp of air, tilting his head back and closing his eyes in relief, savoring the air he would normally take for granted. For a moment, there was only the sound of Soonyoung’s deep breathing and Jihoon’s mumbled “I’m sorry”s.

“Jihoon,” Soonyoung didn’t open his eyes or tilt his head forward, “stop apologizing. It’s okay.”

Jihoon instantly stopped mumbling, a solemn energy settling over the two roommates. It was in the moments of silence that followed that both Soonyoung and Jihoon realized they were still holding hands, Soonyoung’s still slightly squeezing Jihoon’s. They glanced down at their connected hands, each waiting for the other to say something.

“Sorry.” Soonyoung broke the silence, pulling his hand back, trying to push out the memory of how soft Jihoon’s hand was, how gentle it was, and how he just let Soonyoung squeeze it without protest. They broke eye contact and the silence returned, but not for long.

“Hey, are you okay?” Soonyoung suddenly remembered how they ended up sitting on the kitchen floor in a circle of crockery. The beeping and crashing that woke him up. The glaring bruise on Jihoon’s side.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” Jihoon said quietly.

Suddenly, Soonyoung grabbed the edge of Jihoon’s black pajama shirt, yanking it up to reveal the bruise.

“Hey! What’re you-” Jihoon instinctually went to push Soonyoung’s hands off of him, then realized what he was looking at, “Oh. That.”

Soonyoung glanced up at Jihoon, “That doesn’t look fine. What happened?”

Jihoon sighed, “I was just trying to get a bowl out for my rice, but it was all the way on the top shelf, and when I reached for it all the other stuff fell down on top of me and I accidentally backed into the counter really hard. The kitchen isn’t very big.” He looked down sheepishly, Soonyoung’s knuckles warm on his cool skin where he was still holding up Jihoon’s shirt.

“Rice? In the middle of the night?”

“I mean, I was still working and I got hungry, so I thought I’d just make myself a midnight snack.”

Soonyoung chuckled, “You and your rice.”

Jihoon couldn’t stifle his own laugh, the shaking of his body increasing the tactility of the bruise. He winced slightly, and suddenly there was an entire warm hand on his waist. Laughter gone, Jihoon glanced down at Soonyoung’s palm resting on his skin, directly over the bruise.

“We should get some ice on this.” Soonyoung said, focused on the injury - definitely not what Jihoon was focused on. When Soonyoung slid his palm up, Jihoon inhaled sharply, hands unsure where to go. Push Soonyoung off? Cross his arms? Just hang loose?

“Oh, sorry, that probably hurts.” Soonyoung apologized, pulling his hand back, oblivious to the real reason Jihoon was tense. The touch was more intimate than he’d ever expected to be with his new roommate, no matter what Wonwoo had suggested.

Nodding as if Soonyoung were right, the bruise hurt, Jihoon exhaled a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding and felt the warmth of his shirt drop back down to stop the cool winter night air from touching his skin.

Soonyoung stood slowly, offering a hand to Jihoon, who didn’t think about what he was doing before taking it and using it to pull himself to his feet. He quickly became aware of his hand in Soonyoung’s, pulling it back and thanking his roommate for the help. 

Soonyoung proceeded to dig through the freezer for an ice pack, finding one and pressing it to Jihoon’s side before he could protest. Jihoon held his inhale, placing his own hand on the ice pack to replace Soonyoung’s and waiting for the other to take his hand away before he exhaled again.

“Okay, well, we should probably both be getting back to bed. Let our battle wounds heal.” Soonyoung joked, gesturing to the hallway with his thumb and shooting Jihoon a small smile.

Jihoon nodded, “Oh, wait, my rice is still in the microwave.”

With a glance at the microwave, both roommates burst into laughter.

* * *

“Hey, Jihoon?” Soonyoung knocked on Jihoon’s bedroom door, waiting for the go ahead before he entered the room. When he walked in, he realized he hadn’t seen this bedroom since the day Jihoon moved in. That day, the room had been bare, with only a bed and dresser. Now, there were posters for musicians on the wall - Bruno Mars, The Jonas Brothers - and instruments scattered everywhere. A guitar on the bed, a keyboard in the corner, and one of those cool boards with all the colorful squares that Soonyoung recognized but didn’t know the name of. There was also a desk with two monitors and a laptop, music editing software open on every screen. 

At the desk sat Jihoon, a pair of headphones shifted off of one ear so he could turn and listen to whatever Soonyoung had to say, “Did you need something, Soonyoung?” Jihoon asked, breaking Soonyoung from his daze.

“Uh, yeah, I was wondering if you wanted to come with me to lunch and maybe meet my friends?” Soonyoung knew Jihoon wasn’t much of a people person, but his friends were having a Thanksgiving party in a few weeks; he wanted to bring Jihoon, but he wanted Jihoon to meet everyone when they were sober first.

Jihoon looked surprised, “Um, sure, I guess. Lemme just get dressed. I’ll be out in a minute.”

“Awesome! See you in a bit!” Soonyoung ducked out of the room, closing the door behind him and going to get dressed himself. 

* * *

Once they were both ready, Soonyoung drove them to a shabu shabu restaurant where a group of eleven other boys were waiting outside. Soonyoung noticed that Jihoon physically made himself smaller when he saw the group.

“Are..are they all your friends?”

“Yep! You’re gonna love them, don’t worry.”

Jihoon nodded, visibly paling, but Soonyoung was confident his friends would welcome Jihoon respectfully and with lots of love. He’d known them all for years, and he knew no matter how tough they acted, deep down they were all just giant cotton balls.

“Hey, guys!” Soonyoung drew the attention of his friends as he got out of the car, waving frantically and quickly locking the car before running towards them and initiating a short group hug.

“Hey, Soonyoung, who’s the little guy?” the tallest member of the friend group looked over Soonyoung’s shoulder, where Jihoon was lingering by the car.

“New boyfriend? Did you finally realize you’re not ‘just not looking for a relationship right now’?”

“Nah, guys, that’s just his new roommate.” Wonwoo pushed to the front of the group, directing a smug smirk at Soonyoung, who shot him a glare before turning around, remembering Jihoon was still with him and jogging back to the car.

“Hey, sorry.” Soonyoung whispered to a very nervous and embarrassed looking Jihoon who was doing his best to hide within his letterman-style coat, hands stuffed into pockets. Soonyoung slung an arm around Jihoon’s shoulders, forcing him to come closer to the group, “Guys, this is Jihoon, my new roommate. Please be nice to him.” 

“Hi.” Jihoon took a hand out of his jacket pocket to give a small wave.

A chorus of ‘Hi’s and ‘Hello’s came from the group, a couple of returned waves. 

“Jihoon, this is Seungcheol, Jeonghan, Joshua, Jun, Minghao, Seokmin, Mingyu, Seungkwan, Hansol, and Chan.” Soonyoung went down the line, “You already know Wonwoo.”

Jihoon nodded along, gradually regaining confidence as the introduction went on. That may have also been because Soonyoung’s arm never left his shoulders, providing a sort of safety blanket that Jihoon didn’t realize he’d become so comfortable in until they sat down to eat and Soonyoung removed his arm.

Once they’d ordered, the group’s conversation really began. There were shouts across the table, embarrassing stories being told, embarrassing stories being created, and Jihoon began to feel small - or at least smaller than he already was. He didn’t get any of the inside jokes, he didn’t share any of the funny memories, and he quickly realized he didn’t know Soonyoung as well as he thought he did. All of this combined to form a very quiet, very awkward Jihoon, who chose to focus on eating his rice and unknowingly sink farther and farther into Soonyoung’s side until he was almost fully leaning on his roommate.

That’s when Soonyoung looked away from his friends, realizing quickly that he’d gotten caught up in inside jokes and nostalgia and completely neglected Jihoon.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry, Jihoon.”

Jihoon didn’t look up from his plate, “It’s okay.”

Soonyoung reached a hand down to Jihoon’s cheek, pushing his face to look up, “No, it’s not okay. I asked you to come meet my friends and I’m leaving you out.” Jihoon struggled not to blush at the lack of distance between his and Soonyoung’s noses.

“Soonyoung, really, it’s fi-”

A wolf whistle from across the table cut Jihoon off, and suddenly all the attention was on the two roommates.

“Get it, Soonyoung!”

“I told you so!”

Soonyoung closed his eyes and sighed in frustration, releasing Jihoon, who instantly turned his eyes back down to his plate and scooted away from his roommate in embarrassment, ears, neck, and cheeks all burning.

“Guys, we’re not together, stop assuming things.” Soonyoung scolded his friends, embarrassed at what Jihoon was probably thinking about the kind of people Soonyoung was friends with, and knowing that Jihoon was probably uncomfortable.

“Yeah, sure.” Mingyu drawled sarcastically.

“Even if you’re not, you’re gonna be soon.” Jeonghan teased, winking at Jihoon, who blushed and looked away.

“C’mon, stop teasing, guys, I told you, this is probably a lot for him. We’re twelve people, for God’s sake!”

“Woah, Soonyoung, chill, we got the message.” Seungkwan said with a smirk, making Soonyoung wonder what message, exactly, Seungkwan thought they got.

“Sorry, Jihoon.” Seungcheol apologized sheepishly; he was sitting on the other side of Jihoon, so he placed a hand on the shorter’s shoulder. The rest of the group chorused their agreement in the apology, all eyes now on Jihoon.

“It’s okay, everyone. Thank you.” Jihoon smiled slightly, hands rubbing together nervously beneath the table. Suddenly, there was a warm hand over his, and he turned his head to see Soonyoung shooting him a sympathetic, close-lipped smile. A warmth spread through his chest, along with a rush of confidence and assuredness.

“So, Jihoon.” Jihoon looked back to the group at the mention of his name, “How is it rooming with this bag of dicks?”

Jihoon’s eyes widened, surprised by the vulgar nickname, “U-Um, well, I mean, so far, not too bad.”

“Not too bad?! I saved your life!” Soonyoung exclaimed, in reference to the Midnight Snack Incident™.

“Woah, woah, woah, saved my life? I think that’s a little strong.” Suddenly Jihoon was laughing, body language opening up. Soonyoung made it easier.

“You saved his life? That’s pretty romantic.” Jun teased, wiggling his eyebrows at Soonyoung and shooting a wink at Jihoon.

“He didn’t save my life!” Jihoon protested, unable to resist the grin spreading across his face. He sat up straighter, he made eye contact with everyone easily, he laughed freely. Soon enough, Jihoon felt like he was part of the group. He contributed to new inside jokes, new memories. And he felt like he was really starting to learn who Soonyoung was.

* * *

After lunch, Soonyoung thought it’d be a good time to ask Jihoon to accompany him to the Thanksgiving party later that month.

“What day is it?” Jihoon asked, a look Soonyoung couldn’t read on his face.

“The twenty second, why?” Soonyoung watched as Jihoon’s face fell, bracing himself for a rejection, though he wasn’t sure why the date was what made up Jihoon’s mind.

“That’s, uh...That’s my birthday.” 

Soonyoung’s eyes widened, “Oh! Well, in that case, unless you already have plans, I’ll just ask my friends to make it a Thanksgiving slash Jihoon’s birthday party!”

“Oh, no, I couldn’t ask you to-”

“You don’t have to! I’ll go ask them right now!” Soonyoung slipped out of Jihoon’s room amidst protests from the other, heading to the living room to find his phone and call his friends.

Jihoon sighed, turning his swivel chair back to face his desk and noticing that Soonyoung’s phone was right there in front of him. Soonyoung must have brought it with him and forgotten about it. He was about to call for his roommate to let him know, when the lavender phone buzzed with a text message notification. Blaming it on an instinctual reaction to the notification noise gained over years of technological exposure, Jihoon glanced over at the message.

**Chan**  
**To Dick in a Box:**

Interesting group chat name.

**Bro just tell Jihoon**

_Just tell Jihoon? What?_ Jihoon couldn’t help himself; he glanced at his closed door before sliding the message to the left, tapping on the view feature, allowing him to see the conversation that had happened prior to the ‘just tell Jihoon’ message.

He sucked in a breath at what he saw in blue.

**Guys he’s just really pretty**  
**Are you sure the party is a good idea I don’t wanna scare him :’)**  
**Wonwoo this is your fault**

Jihoon stopped reading, knowing he was encroaching on Soonyoung’s privacy and he shouldn’t be snooping, but he couldn’t help the swell in his chest at how sweet Soonyoung was, how kindly he’d talked about him. He turned the phone off, sliding it to the edge of his desk so it wouldn’t be a distraction. The moment his hand left the phone his door opened again.

“Hey, Jihoon, I think my phone might be in here?” Jihoon felt his heart jump at the sudden entrance, already feeling guilty for what he’d done.

“Uh, yeah, it’s right there.” He gestured to the phone vaguely, as if he didn’t know its exact location, as if he wasn’t the one who put it back there.

“Awesome, thanks!” Soonyoung snatched the phone, shooting Jihoon a small smile of gratitude that Jihoon instantly felt unworthy of.

* * *

A week later, Soonyoung was still struggling to find a gift for Jihoon. He had convinced his friends to make the party both a Thanksgiving and birthday celebration - though not without a hefty amount of teasing. His goal now was to find a present, but he still didn’t really know his roommate well enough to get what he considered to be a good enough gift.

As such, he decided to try and discreetly ask Jihoon without the other realizing it was a ploy to learn what he wanted. He headed towards Jihoon’s room, but as his hand hovered over the door to knock, he heard something.

It was singing. Jihoon singing. 

And it was beautiful.

Retracting his hand, Soonyoung stood for a moment and just listened. This wasn’t a song Jihoon was making, this was just him singing because he wanted to sing. Soonyoung knew because he instantly recognized the song as a slowed down, more ballad-esque version of Lady Gaga’s Bad Romance. Jihoon must have simply rearranged it, made it slower and softer.

Entranced by Jihoon’s siren-song, Soonyoung took a seat next to the door, arms wrapped around knees bent into his chest as he leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes, letting the sound escape the room and enter his ears.

He didn’t know how long he sat there, but suddenly, the singing stopped. He was much too blissful to move just yet, but unfortunately, the singing had stopped because Jihoon was leaving the room.

He opened the door and nearly tripped over Soonyoung as he turned the corner, “Woah, Soonyoung, what are you doing just...sitting...in the hallway?”

Soonyoung fluttered his eyes open, gaze far away as he turned his head to look at Jihoon, “That was beautiful.”

There was a moment of silence in which Jihoon processed what Soonyoung had just said, putting two and two together to realize that Soonyoung had been listening to him sing. His cheeks flushed instantly, “Soonyoung!”

“I’m sorry! I was coming to execute this intense covert plan to find out what you wanted for your birthday, but then I heard you singing and it was so pretty I couldn’t just not listen!”

Jihoon sighed, “It’s fine, I guess. Um, what was the first thing you said?”

“I’m sorry?”

“No, the other part.”

Soonyoung thought about it for a moment, realized he’d blown his master plan, and figured he might as well just get it over with, “I wanted to ask you what you wanted for your birthday.”

“Oh, Soonyoung, you don’t have to get me any-”

“Eh beh beh, yes I do!” Soonyoung cut him off, “As a good roommate and a better friend I am required to get you a birthday present _because I want to_. So tell me what you want.”

* * *

Soonyoung scrambled out of the bathroom, having heard Jihoon’s door open and remembering that said roommate’s birthday present was sitting out on the dining room table. Out in the hallway, he saw Jihoon casually strolling towards their central living space. 

He realized a little too late that Jihoon wasn’t even looking up - he was staring down at his phone - and Soonyoung’s limbs didn’t get the message in time, his feet skidding on the hardwood, arms reaching out to snake around Jihoon - one around his eyes, the other around his waist. The two of them came crashing down, Jihoon letting out a surprised scream as Soonyoung twisted his body to make sure Jihoon landed on top of him and not vice versa.

The adrenaline rushed out of Soonyoung’s veins faster than a hooker in Skechers, and the pain of crashing into hardwood with Jihoon on top of him suddenly surged into his back. He groaned, acutely aware of the fresh bruises blooming below his skin.

“Soonyoung? Is that you? What’s happening?” Jihoon’s voice teetered between scared and confused, seemingly unsure whether he should be fighting back.

Panting, Soonyoung let his head fall back and rest on the ground, “Yeah, it’s me. Don’t worry about it.”

“Don’t worry about it? Soonyoung, you just tackled me to the ground and covered my eyes! What’s going on?” Jihoon squirmed in Soonyoung’s arms, reaching a hand up to grab at the arm over his face.

“Hey, hey, I’m sorry, but I can’t let you open your eyes.” Soonyoung tightened the arm around Jihoon’s eyes, careful not to crush his roommate’s nose.

“Soonyoung, seriously,” Jihoon struggled to get his sight back, “You’re scaring me.”

“I’ll take my arm off if you close your eyes.”

“I- Fine.” Jihoon squeezed his eyes shut, feeling his lashes brush over Soonyoung’s skin, and a moment later the arm over his face was gone, though he was suddenly highly aware of the arm still tight around his waist and the entire body still beneath him, flush against his back.

Slowly, Soonyoung sat up, shifting Jihoon off to his side, but leaving the arm around his waist, guiding his roommate to stand with him. As the two settled on their feet, Jihoon let Soonyoung guide him back to his room.

“Okay, just stay here for a bit.” Soonyoung took a breath, mouth open as if he were unsure whether to keep talking. He settled for, “Don’t worry.” 

Brow furrowed in confusion, Jihoon nodded, strangely aware of the arm no longer around his waist. He watched Soonyoung’s face as he left, wariness strewn across it. Once his roommate was gone, Jihoon thought it’d be a good idea to start choosing an outfit for the Thanksgiving slash birthday party in a few hours. 

He sighed, still bewildered by how quickly he’d become a part of Soonyoung’s life, integrated into it. They’d met barely a month ago and Soonyoung had turned a gathering of his closest friends into a birthday party for his new roommate who didn’t talk to him unless talked to first, and spent most of his time hidden in his room working. Jihoon felt a wave of guilt, suddenly overanalyzing Soonyoung’s recent actions. Was he mad? Did he know Jihoon saw those texts?

Trying to push away the upsetting thoughts, Jihoon turned to his closet, fully prepared to overanalyze his clothes instead.

* * *

“Hey, ready to go?” Soonyoung said through Jihoon’s bedroom door.

“Yep!” Jihoon opened the door, and in an instant, Soonyoung’s jaw was on the floor.

Jihoon was wearing a black button up shirt with cherries printed on it, the collar turned down over a black denim jacket and one too many buttons undone for Soonyoung’s heart to handle. Around his neck were three silver necklaces, each of different lengths, resting against his chest where the shirt didn’t cover. The edges of the button up were tucked into a pair of black jeans, a silver belt buckle somehow glinting in the dull hallway light.

“Wow…” Soonyoung breathed, dragging his eyes back to Jihoon’s face, sharp eyes hidden beneath a thin layer of silver hair.

Jihoon chuckled, though an unmistakable pink tinge dusted his cheeks, “Not too bad yourself.” The shorter gave Soonyoung a once-over; a checkerboard pantsuit, sleeves and pant legs rolled up, a wide black belt around his waist with a long tail.

“Let’s go, then.” Jihoon smiled, jerking his head down the hallway teasingly before sliding past his roommate and walking down the hallway, Soonyoung jogging to catch up and smiling to himself.

* * *

Knowing his friends, Soonyoung knew the door to Joshua’s apartment would be open, so he didn’t even think before barging through the front door and shouting, “Time to party, fuckasses!”

Jihoon couldn’t help the burst of laughter that overflowed past his lips at the line, still not used to Soonyoung’s complete change in behavior around his friends. Friends who, at the noisy entrance into the already noisy apartment, rushed to greet the two roommates with hugs and red solo cups full of beer.

“Birthday boy!” Mingyu exclaimed, throwing an arm around Jihoon and shoving a cup into his hand.

Jihoon’s “Oh, I don’t drink...” was lost within the cheers of Soonyoung’s friends. He was pulled farther into the apartment, to the middle of the living room - what seemed to be a makeshift dance floor, though the only music was a soft holiday Spotify playlist echoing from a bluetooth speaker. All his cockiness from earlier was gone, Soonyoung nowhere to be found within the crowd. Jihoon was well aware that he was shorter than all of Soonyoung’s friends by a long shot, but in the flurry of bodies moving around him, he felt his height difference even more so. It was almost scary, and suddenly it was if walls were closing in around him.

“Soonyoung!” Jihoon called out in panic, eyes skipping through the group of only eleven other people - it seemed like so much more.

And then there was an arm around his shoulders and Jihoon was pulled out of the tumult, “Hey, Jihoon, you okay?” 

Soonyoung’s voice was instant relief, Jihoon’s breathing slowed, though his heart rate didn’t change much, “Sorry, I just...don’t do well in crowds.”

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry I put you in that situation.” Soonyoung quickly apologized, his grip tightening on Jihoon’s shoulder.

“Soonyoung, Soonyoung, it’s okay, I’m fine.” 

“Are you sure?” 

“Yes.” Jihoon said firmly, placing his own hand on Soonyoung’s loose arm and making pointed eye contact that he hoped related his message.

“Well heeeeey~” a definitely not-completely-sober voice teased in their direction, “What’s happening over here?” 

The two roommates instantly disconnected, heads whipping around to see Jeonghan waltzing over in their direction casually. Like a pack of popular girls in an eighties chick flick, behind him followed Joshua - who seemed relatively sober - and Seungcheol - maybe not as sober.

“Nothing.” Soonyoung said hurriedly, always wary of what his older trio of friends might be up to, Jeonghan especially.

“Oh yeah, sure, nothing.” Jeonghan giggled, but he didn’t push farther. Instead, he turned around and threw his arms out to the group, shouting to gain their attention. Once every almost-sober eye in the room was on him, Jeonghan suggested they play a game.

“Oh no.” Soonyoung whispered to himself, Jihoon too close not to hear.

“What? Why oh no?” Jihoon frantically asked.

Soonyoung didn’t have to answer, because Jeonghan was already raising an empty beer bottle above his head.

* * *

Jihoon held his knees close to his chest, eyes scanning every face in the circle. Some as sober as he was, others staring into thin air like there was something there. In the middle of the circle was the empty beer bottle, laying on its side, its opening currently pointing carelessly at Mingyu.

“Okay, guys, let’s get started.” The smirk on Jeonghan’s face was absolutely despicable.

He picked up the beer bottle, tossing it between his hands casually, like he was waiting for something to happen. It was hard to tell if he was insanely drunk or completely sober.

“I think the birthday boy should go first.”

Jihoon snapped to attention, eyes widening at the suggestion. He raised his hands in protest, muttering rapidfire denials, but it was no use; Jeonghan was already crawling across the wood floor to stuff the empty bottle into Jihoon’s hands.

“No, no, no, I barely know you guys, I can’t- I can’t kiss any of you.” Jihoon stuttered his disagreement, hands rubbing the bottle nervously. He glanced across the circle at Soonyoung, eyes pleading. 

Soonyoung opened his mouth to say something, but Wonwoo cut him off, “Come on, Jihoon, we’re all friends here. You’re one of us now!”

“Guys, you’re hazing him, this isn’t fair.” Soonyoung raised his voice.

“Hey, we all went through it, he has to, too!” Chan threw in, his tone joking, but his opinion serious.

“It’s not the same.”

“It’s just a kiss!”

“Maybe he’ll even land on-”

“I’ll do it!” Jihoon shouted, silencing the group’s argument and managing to bring all the eyes back to him.

Soonyoung’s were wide, and he looked embarrassed, “Jihoon, you really don’t have to.”

Jihoon met Soonyoung’s eyes, holding the eye contact, “It’s fine. I’ll do it.”

Breaking eye contact, Jihoon placed the bottle on the dark wood slowly, making sure the flume was facing him to avoid any premature assumptions or any tilted luck. Glancing up and around the circle one more time, his eyes skimmed over everyone - faces he’d just learned in the past week or two - and stopping on Soonyoung for barely a second longer, a second too long. He let his hand rest on the bottle, taking a deep breath and closing his eyes before turning his wrist and spinning the bottle.

Not a single eye left the glass as it turned and turned, a dark green spiral gradually slowing. And slowing. And slowing.

Until finally.

It stopped.

Jihoon followed the path the bottle’s flume pointed in.

To Soonyoung.

They locked eyes, Soonyoung’s wide and unsure, a blush forming on both of their cheeks.

Jihoon grabbed the bottle and spun it again.

“Hey! You can’t do that!” Soonyoung shouted before he could stop himself.

“Sounds like someone’s disappointed.” Wonwoo wiggled his eyebrows at Soonyoung, who struggled to stutter out a response.

“What?!” All eyes flew to Jihoon, and then to the bottle….which had landed again on Soonyoung.

“Talk about fate.” Minghao smirked.

Once again, Jihoon and Soonyoung met eyes across the circle. There was a moment where it was just them. The cheers of the rest of the group were quieted, the music gone. They just stared.

“Get on with it!” Seungkwan’s voice cut through their silence, rousing the voices of all the others as the circle began closing the two roommates in. Soon enough, they were mere inches apart, kneeled before each other.

“Jihoon, are you really sure about this?” Soonyoung whispered, personally conflicted. He wasn’t opposed to kissing Jihoon - honestly he kind of wanted to - but he also didn’t want to make their relationship awkward, or make Jihoon uncomfortable.

Jihoon swallowed, looked around at all the eager faces, looked back, nodded.

Soonyoung moved his face closer, and Jihoon met him halfway. Their lips touched softly, gently, carefully. Neither wanted to be the one to take things too far, so they stayed where they were. Eyes closed, lips pressed together, hands to themselves. It couldn’t have been more than five seconds before they broke apart, settling back onto their haunches.

“Oh, come on, that wasn’t a kiss! That was just putting your lips together!” Seungkwan protested, waving his arms around chaotically.

Soonyoung glanced over apprehensively, “Come on, Seungkwan, don’t-”

“No, he’s right.” Soonyoung turned back in surprise at Jihoon’s words.

“What?”

“That wasn’t a kiss.” Jihoon said, matter-of-fact.

“Haha! I knew I liked him!” Seokmin exclaimed, reaching for high fives from those around him.

Soonyoung was shocked. Here he was, essentially having brought Jihoon into a Thanksgiving themed hazing ceremony for a birthday present, and Jihoon was going with it, encouraging it. Liking it? Unsure how to react to the statement, Soonyoung simply reached for Jihoon’s hands.

“Okay, so let’s kiss.”

Jihoon was faster this time, almost eager it seemed, pushing his lips against Soonyoung’s and genuinely kissing him. Soonyoung’s hand moved to Jihoon’s waist, and Jihoon’s hand moved to Soonyoung’s cheek.

Again, it couldn’t have been more than five seconds before they broke away, but this was different. This was real, caring, hungry.

Cautiously, the two roommates made eye contact and smiled.

* * *

The last event of the night was gifts. As the Thanksgiving party had also become a birthday celebration for Jihoon, all of Soonyoung’s friends - though Jihoon would consider them his friends, too now - had bought presents.

Not knowing him that well, though, Jihoon ended up with a lot of strange presents. He got stuffed animals, glowsticks, towels, pens, books, and even just a straight up brick (which he found out later was the originally-thirty-now-over-a-thousand-dollar Supreme brick - he would have to rethink his response to Mingyu). 

It wasn’t until the night was coming to a close that Jihoon realized he’d never received a gift from Soonyoung. He didn’t want to say anything, because obviously Soonyoung wasn’t _required_ to give him a present, but if there was anyone he expected a gift from, it was Soonyoung. It would be a lie to say he wasn’t disappointed.

What Jihoon didn’t expect was that when he got in Soonyoung’s car after the party - turns out his roommate didn’t like drinking, either, so he was safe to drive - Soonyoung didn’t put the key in the ignition.

“Is something wrong?” Jihoon asked, concerned about his roommate, who looked slightly off. Nervous, was it?

“Actually, I, uh, I got you something.” Guess he hadn’t forgotten after all. He twisted himself around to reach his arms into the backseat of the car.

“Oh, Soonyoung, you didn’t have to.” Jihoon responded purely out of politeness.

“Of course I had to, you’re my friend!” Soonyoung paused in his search, a tense silence settling over the two. Friends. After what just happened? Neither wanted to initiate anything, unsure if they were sharing in the same thoughts.

Soonyoung resumed his search, finally straightening out in his seat, pulling a box wrapped in silver paper with him. Settling in, he extended the box to Jihoon, a toothy grin stretching across his face, “Matches your hair.”

Jihoon couldn’t help how the corners of his lips reached for his ears. He accepted the box with a glance at Soonyoung, ripping the paper off quickly, but not recklessly. As the shimmering silver slipped from the box, Jihoon’s hand flew to his mouth, slender fingers hovering over his lips.

“Soonyoung, you didn’t…” He snapped his gaze to his roommate, who was grinning like a madman, saying nothing.

Jihoon looked back down at the white-topped box with the black edge, small black letters on the top reading ‘GUCCI’. Almost in the hopes that it was a joke, that it was just the box to trick him into thinking it was what he thought it was, Jihoon lifted the lid slowly. But it was exactly what he recognized the box to be for.

A pair of Gucci slides.

“Soonyoung, these cost- how did you- when did you-” Jihoon was at a loss for words, mouth opening and closing like a fish out of water. He shook his head, gaze entrapped within the box of expensive shoes.

“I saw you looking at them online last week, and the week before that, and before that...You left the tab open.”

“Soonyoung, these are over two hundred dollars!” Jihoon exclaimed, “We just met last month, this is like, a lifelong best friend kind of gift, or a…” Jihoon’s hurried speech slowed as something dawned on him, “significant other…”

His gaze flicked up to meet Soonyoung’s, the question hidden behind his wide eyes obvious enough to the both of them. Soonyoung’s pointed look was suggestive, asking the question, confessing, for him.

Never breaking Soonyoung’s gaze, silence hovering between them in the small cab of the car, Jihoon put the lid back on the box, placing a palm on top protectively, lovingly, and nodded. 

Soonyoung smiled and leaned in quickly, but when Jihoon inhaled sharply and flinched backwards, he paused, smile dropping, “Is this okay? Did I read this all wrong?”

“No, no, I just...got nervous.”

“Says the one who demanded we redo our Spin the Bottle endeavour.” Soonyoung smirked, Jihoon raising an eyebrow in acknowledgement and suddenly swooping in to lock lips with his roommate.

Through the kiss, Soonyoung couldn’t help but laugh.

* * *

In the hopes of spotting a star through the light pollution hanging over the city, Soonyoung and Jihoon climbed out onto their fire escape, making their way to the rooftop - a route Soonyoung had suggested, one he’d used many a time before when he just wanted to be alone with his thoughts.

As they climbed, Jihoon felt the early December evening breeze rustle his hair, seep through the fabric of his clothes and send a chill down his spine. He felt like a character in a movie, scaling the fire escape of his apartment building behind his roommate-turned-boyfriend.

That was new, almost strange, to think about. Soonyoung. His boyfriend. It was barely a month ago they were meeting for the first time, Jihoon a coffee-filled recluse, and Soonyoung a talkative yet introverted social butterfly. 

“You got it?” Jihoon called up to Soonyoung, in reference to the miniature barbeque he’d suddenly remembered he had in the back of his closet. Jihoon chose not to question it. Instead, he bought marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers.

Once they reached the rooftop - not more than three stories up - they laid everything out, Soonyoung having already lugged a small bag of charcoal up earlier. They removed the lid of the barbeque - Jihoon unable to resist an Ariana Grande joke - and made a fire, the heat in extreme contrast to the chilly winter air. The flames danced and flickered, lighting up the dark rooftop and turning the faces of the two roommates a deep orange, pupils a muted yellow.

Settling into a criss-crossed seat on the cold concrete, Jihoon pulled his black hoodie sleeves down over his hands, rubbing them together and holding them up to the fire for a moment before opening the packaging for the s’mores ingredients. He felt Soonyoung settle in beside him, his presence comforting on the empty roof. 

“Hand me a marshmallow.” Soonyoung held his hand out, collecting the sweet from his boyfriend and impaling it on a two-pronged metal stick with a wooden handle before hovering it over the fire next to Jihoon’s, which was already warming, tendrils of flame licking the edges of the marshmallow.

S’more by s’more, the two used up all the ingredients, stargazing for air traffic and trying to weed out any that might actually be stars. As the night got colder, they huddled closer and closer, eventually leaning in to each other’s sides, Jihoon’s head resting on Soonyoung’s shoulder, and Soonyoung’s leaning down on Jihoon’s.

They watched as the fire dimmed, the flames faded, flickered and sparked and died.

“You know, this kind of upsets me.” Soonyoung spoke through the fading embers.

“This?”

“Our...relationship.”

Jihoon lifted his head slightly, speaking in a small voice, “Our relationship makes you...upset?”

“Yeah.”

“Can I ask why?”

“Because it means Wonwoo was right.”

Jihoon exhaled heavily, letting his head fall back onto his boyfriend’s shoulder.

“Yeah. I guess that’s true...Wonwoo was right.”

They chuckled before silence settled over them. Comfortable, calm.

“Hey, Jihoon?”

“Yeah?”

“I love you.”

Jihoon felt his chest swell, speaking in what was barely a whisper, “I love you, too, Soonyoung.”


End file.
